The Florida Legislature passed a law requiring School Boards to adopt a policy that gives parents and students the ability to seek enrollment in a school other than their zoned school of attendance.(§1002.31, Florida Statutes) FL Statute available here

 Under § Section 1002.31, Florida Statutes, , the district school board shall allow a parent from any district in the state whose child is not subject to a current expulsion or suspension to enroll his or her child in and transport his or her child to any public school that has not reached capacity in the district, subject to available capacity.

Please review the available schools in the FOCUS parent portal using the Open Enrollment application link.

No. Transportation is the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian. Parents can pursue transportation funds through the Florida Department of Education Scholarships.  Visit FDOE’s website for more information.

Parents/legal guardians must complete an online application from the COE website by clicking on the Controlled Open Enrollment link.  A parent/guardian who is unable to electronically complete an application may obtain a printed copy through the School District’s central office. All applications sent via mail must be received by the last day of the initial Controlled Open Enrollment window, or the application will not be included in the initial lottery. All applications received after the initial window will be put on a waitlist in the order they are received.

Yes, open seats at COE schools will be posted on the website throughout the school year. After the initial lottery, all applicants are put on a waitlist in the order received.

No. Parents will need to reapply annually if a seat does not become available for the requested year.

Florida law requires districts to give priority to the following students ranked equally:

1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders;

2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone;

3. Children who move due to a court-ordered change in custody due to a separation or divorce, or due to the serious illness or death of a custodial parent;

4. Children who live in Leon County.

A lottery will be used to determine which students will be granted assignments if there are more applicants than student stations available. In the event that all students are assigned to the school, and there are still remaining seats, those seats will be assigned to out-of-county applicants on a lottery basis.

If a student who received a seat in a lottery does not claim that seat, or if it is rescinded due to the failure of the parent/guardian to provide required documentation, the seat will be reassigned to the first student on the waiting list. If space in the requested grade level becomes available, the parent/guardian of the next student on the waitlist will be notified.

Applications with a verified sibling priority shall be noted and maintained in a separate sibling list. Placement of siblings within the same school is facilitated whenever feasible if appropriate educational services are available for each sibling at the requested school. You may submit one application per student, per school.

Once notified of a lottery selection for an available seat, the parent/guardian must register the student in the specified school within ten (10) business days of receiving notification to accept the seat. If seats reopen due to a declined selection, the student with the next number in the lottery will be notified and offered the seat.

No. A new sibling will not automatically be assigned to a school that is at or above capacity.

Yes, your child may apply, but if they are accepted, an IEP Team will convene to determine whether the student’s needs can be adequately addressed and to ensure the IEP can be implemented at the chosen school. If not, the student will not be enrolled, but placed at the appropriate school based on their attendance zone or appropriate placement for services if they are a resident of Leon County. Students residing in another county, whom the District is not able to serve, will be expected to enroll in their home county.

Parents/guardians will receive notification via email indicating approval/denial of a seat assignment. Additionally, all schools will have a list of approved applicants after completion of the lottery process.

No. Since Pre-K Programs are not mandatory, COE options are not available for Pre-K students. For more information about our Pre-K programs, please click here for VPK Information.

 Only if the student resides in that school’s attendance zone. Otherwise, the parent is required to submit a Controlled Open Enrollment application for Kindergarten.

Yes. A parent/guardian has the option to return his or her child to a zoned school at any time. However, a student who has returned to his or her zoned school may not return to the Controlled Open Enrollment school for the rest of the school year and must reapply for a seat in that school, and will be added to the waitlist.

No. Your child may stay at the school through the highest grade offered. Transportation will be the responsibility of the parent/guardian.

No. Leon County School System employees may seek a renewal of their current transfer approval through the District’s School Services office.

There will be no impact to the current application process or programs of choice/career academies. In accordance with Florida Statute 1002.31, the District will maintain existing academic eligibility criteria for public school choice programs.

 Yes. If your child is granted enrollment at a different school pursuant to open enrollment, they can participate in athletics. Please note that any form of student athlete recruitment is still illegal under open enrollment. Please also note that students will not be eligible to participate in the same sport during the same academic year if they transfer mid-year due to hardship or other special pupil requests besides open enrollment.

Yes. Controlled Open Enrollment placement may be rescinded if:

1. Incorrect or false information was provided in the application; or

2. Attendance, tardiness, or discipline/behavior problems develop at the receiving school

3. The academic criterion is not met based on the requirements of a 2.0 GPA